PlayPiano

C major chord

The three notes, the three ways to stack them and which fingers to use.

The short answer

The notes of the C major chord are C, E and G.

On the keys

Keyboard with C, E and G markedCEG

Yellow is the root, the note the chord is named after.

On the staff

Treble and bass staves showing the C major chord in root position: C, E and G

The C major chord in root position. The treble clef is the right hand; the bass clef is the same chord an octave lower for the left.

Inversions

An inversion keeps the same three notes and changes which one is lowest. The C major chord has a root position and two inversions, and all three still sound as C major.

  1. Root positionC E Gright hand 1 3 5, left hand 5 3 1
  2. First inversionE G Cright hand 1 2 5, left hand 5 3 1
  3. Second inversionG C Eright hand 1 3 5, left hand 5 2 1

Keep going

C major scale

The scale this chord is built on: C, D, E, F, G, A and B.

A minor chord

The relative minor shares the same key signature as C major.

C minor chord

Same root, one note different: the third moves a semitone down.

Questions

How do you build a C major chord?

Start on C, add the major third (four semitones) above it, which is E, then the perfect fifth above the root (seven semitones), which is G.

How many inversions does a C major chord have?

Two: first inversion puts E at the bottom and second inversion puts G at the bottom. With root position that makes three ways to play the same chord.

Practise C major and the chords around it in PlayPiano, a piano practice app for iPhone and iPad.

Play it in the app